Southern Africa Committee Minutes

Minutes of the Southern Africa Committee of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) meeting on May 24, 1976. • III. Reports on Recent Conferences • IV. Letter to President Ford • V. Guidelines • VI. Nonviolence Projects • VII. Report on Bill Sutherland's tour thus far • VIII. Southern Africa Program Finances • IX. Second field staff position • X. Peace Education Division's Proposed Expansion of Work on Southern Africa • XI. Physician to Mozambique • Lyle Tatum reported on a conference held May 8-10 at Yale University's Seven Springs Center, Mt. Kisco, New York on "Mozambique, Angola, Rhodesia, and Namibia: New Dimensions on Southern Africa." Frank Loescher reported on an action-oriented, Johnson Foundation-sponsored conference on Namibia held at the Wingspread Conference Center, Racine, Wisconsin May 4-5. The Lutherans, who constitute a key group on Namibia, were represented; several Namibians attended, as did Sean MacBride of the U.N. Council for Namibia, several Washington, D.C. activists, and AFSC's Bill Sutherland. Steve Thiermann raised the proposed letter from AFSC to President Ford regarding Secretary of State Kissinger's recent pronouncements on southern Africa drafted at the urging of AFSC Board member Kale Williams. Williams thought it was appropriate to applaud a positive policy shift. David Sogge said the draft notes for approval the Secretary of State's pledge to urge repeal of the Byrd Amendment, to warn the illegal Smith Government of Rhodesia, and to promise to consult with the leaders of the "frontline" black African states. Also, it goes on to note the still-great shortfall between U.S. actions and words on southern Africa, the critical omission of such topics as U.S. investments in South Africa, and the lack of repudiation of foreign policy approaches such as the kind taken regarding Angola. Committee members considered the "Report on Consultation on Reconciliation" from the Members, Attenders, and Friends of the Western Cape Society of Friends and a paper, "Reconciliation in Southern Africa" by H.W. van der Merwe. Both were sent to AFSC by H.W. van der Merwe, Director of the Center for Intergroup Studies at the University of Cape Town. David Sogge reported on Bill Southerland's U.S. speaking tour. In four weeks, Sutherland has stopped in 17 cities, met with several dozen local groups, and has had at least 20 interviews with media representatives; still more are planned in the Pasadena and San Francisco areas, as well as with people on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations. The minutes also mention Kenneth Martin, David Richie, Ed Sanders, Jerry Silberman, Matthew Wakatama, Charles Walker, John Yungblut, Jim Bristol, Rosemari Mealy, Patricia Hunt, Mike Simmons, South African propaganda, self-determination, "reverse racialism," property rights, human rights, a library on nonviolence for use by refugees and other southern Africans, Lusaka, Windhoek, South African Friends, Mark Povall, Beyers Naude, Gatsha Buthelezi, nonviolent solutions, UNESCO, racism, Northern Cheyenne and Crow activists struggling to acquire rights to their lands in Montana, the U.N. Special Committee Against Apartheid, Priorities Committee of the International Division Executive Committee (IDEC), Nationwide Peace Education Division Committee (PED), Cuba, the U.N. Security Council, U.S. groups working on southern Africa, the Mozambique Government, and black communities.